I went to the 20th. I was reluctant to go then, but Mrs. Grumpy pushed me into it. I was actually glad I did. I didn't have any of the nightmarish experiences you describe, and enjoyed talking to some of the people.

In fact, the only thing that went wrong was when Mrs. Grumpy asked a former classmate when she was due. She wasn't.

Yipes! Sheesh, I'm scary-anal about never even referring to my GP's career when she and I run into each other at school and the kids' activities, which happens on occasion because our sons are near the same ages.

I can't imagine having the nerve to holler at a doctor "hey, free medical advice -- nifty!" or a variation thereof.

I attended five different colleges in two states. I never attended any of my reunions. After moving many times and having nothing to do with them after I graduated, the new president of the college that finally granted me a Batchelors degree sent me a letter about forty years after I graduated. I wrote her a letter congratulating her on her skip tracing skills and telling her that I was contacting the President and suggesting he nominate her the next time there was an opening for a new director of the FBI or for Homeland Security.

I got no further invitations to attend reunions or join alumni organizations.

Ouch. Yes, rule #1 is to never ask unless you already know. One of my co-workers gets congratulated and asked regularly when she's due... She's not. One male customer actually poked her belly and asked her if she was sure she wasn't prego. Yikes.

What a great answer!The only other thing you can do - is ask them for free services in return - you know, tell them to give out free advice is against your oath - but if they cannot afford medical services maybe you can barter for a free tune up for your car or something!

You could go as a schizophrenic - tell them that Dr. Grumpy is a persona you put on at work and take off when you leave.

Hey, vanity press, I would have loved to receive a letter like the one you wrote because it meant that I did good. When I was in college, I took a summer job at the Development office, i.e. the begging-for-money office. It was my job to track down the current addresses of alumni who were 'missing'. As this was the late 80's, just prior to the world wide web explosion, it was a slogging through the phonebooks and calling classmates effort.

Try being a psychologist. Everywhere I go (planes, dates, reunions, etc.) when people find out I'm a psychologist they think that's license for them to put it all out there as if I want to give an impromptu therapy session. So for you docs (MDs) out there, I know how you feel. Really.

Welcome to my whining!

This blog is entirely for entertainment purposes. All posts about patients may be fictional, or be my experience, or were submitted by a reader, or any combination of the above. Factual statements may or may not be accurate.

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Note: I do not answer medical questions. If you are having a medical issue, see your own doctor. For all you know I'm really a Mongolian yak herder and have no medical training at all except in issues regarding the care and feeding of Mongolian yaks.